What's the most disappointing car you've ever driven?

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

1991 964 C2TL Cabriolet Automatic. Can't say I was expecting much to be honest, especially with that gearbox but what a completely horrible driving experience it was and the car's in excellent shape. How they're worth $120k+ is fucking beyond me.

[byf_42]

I had a 86 Ford Tempo. What an awful shitbox of a car. With the automatic, the fucking thing could barely get out of its own way. It was white, with a red velour interior. While it looked kind of nice, it was so awful to drive it made my old Chevette seem like a race car.

[Jeremy]

Fiat Abarth.

I expected light, quick, and fun. It was light but for some reason didn't feel like it. The turbo spooled super late in the rev range which kinda sucked a lot of the fun out, the torque steer when it did come on was exceptional, and it just just didn't feel like it handled all that well. Too tall and narrow probably. I was disappointed.

It was a short test drive at a race weekend, but the drive was on roads I knew well.

[tig]

The TT cab I just rented in Munich.

It was not a Quattro and had the Diesel motor.

The combination of high torque and FWD meant the worst torque steer I've ever experienced.

Driving around Sunny Munich with the top down, and visiting the Holy Land... Er BMW museum was otherwise awesome.

[Kenny Blankenship]

In no particular order:

My first new car, 1975 Ford Pinto. Slow, tractor motor, 15 mpg. Worn camshafts at 36k. Frozen master cylinder (on the freeway!) at 50k. Got rid if it right after that. By far the worst car I've ever owned.

The new Toyota Corolla. The dashboard seems right in front of your face and screams cheap. No power. Lousy CVT.

The new VW Jetta. German version of the Corolla above, but better engine and transmission.

The new Toyota Camry. The seat bottoms have gotten really hard and flat.

The new Chrysler 200. Performed decently but I kept hitting my head getting in the car and it did not feel roomy.

1995 Mercedes E300 diesel. Maybe there was something wrong with it, but it was REALLY slow off the line. I wanted to like it...

Late model Jeep Liberty. Lousy gas mileage, lousy ride and high liftover height to the hatch.

1976 Porsche 911 Targa. I was ready for an experience and was disappointed. It wasn't that fast and was somewhat difficult to drive.

[vinceg101]

Lot's of rentals for sure, but a few others too:
2003 Nissan Micra:
We rented this to drive from Florence, Italy through Tuscany and finishing in Venice. Super small, super crappy in terms of handling, response, comfort and just about everything else. Driving that car on the Autostrada in the rain was truly terrifying as it sounded like the sewing machine it had for an engine was about to launch itself sideways out the front fender at any minute. The only redeeming quality was being able to drive this through the streets of Montecatini Alto (tiny little mountaintop village, stunning) and the ancient walled city of Lucca. You could fit this car in your back pocket or in the tinniest parking spaces in an alley.

1971 AMC Hornet Sportabout:
Not sure you can really include this due to its' age, but it still stands out in my mind. This was a tough call due to my relative inexperience I had with cars at that time, (I was just starting college). It was my mom's car that replaced her '74 Ford Galaxie 500 sedan (beast but comfy as a Bark-a-lounger). I'm conflicted because I really liked the looks of the car at the time and was attracted to the small wagon model that AMC seemed to perfect. I also appreciated the legacy this car represented in AMC's model history (Rambler 440 to Hornet Sportabout to Concord to Eagle). But I had one of the most terrifying drives of my life in that car at night in the middle of a torrential rain storm on the back roads of western NJ. The car was fairly primitive: manual steering, manual brakes (drums all around to boot), vacuum powered windshield wiper blades, sealed beam headlights. :shudder:. The wiper blades were what almost killed me: you slow down because you couldn't see much but when you did, so did the wiper blades so then you saw even less. Bias ply tires and leaf spring technology felt like driving a tractor but with less road feel; the front end and steering wheel were all over the place all the time. Even after upgrading the tires to all-season radials and new suspension didn't help much. Really uncomfortable bench seats with that lovely vinyl upholstery Detroit loved to use back in the 1960's. Even in good weather that car was a handful. Cars like these make you really appreciate the advancements the auto industry has made in the subsequent decades.

[Blue Shadow]

A friend had bmws and he didn't much care for the e30 m3. That car needs to be driven in the top third of the tach or it is not going to be an experience. And when doing that it needs to be because you need that gear not just high revving the motor.

[rmiddendorf]

Easily an e34 530i.

V8 milage - M30 power.

That too.

[oldskool]

Can't say I've ever been truly dissatisfied with a car. Society yes, not cars.

[Mike W.]

Easily an e34 530i.

V8 milage - M30 power.

That too.

Never driven one, but I'd heard it was almost M20 power.

[Corner Carver]

2007 Dodge Caliber SE. Gutless pile, torque steer abomination. I was in Vegas for business and the counter attendant talked me into it the upgrade from economy Neon. "It's a great driver" he said. Driver position was more like a bus driver than anything. It sounded like a Kazoo, 1rst and 2nd were way too short and 3rd & 4th were way to tall. A thoroughly disappointing experience.

[Tammer in Philly]

I got to drive my dream car, a 930 turbo in fantastic shape. Super-tall gears combined with horrible turbo lag make it feel both slow and scary. On the other hand, the wonderfully light steering has exceptional feel, and the sensation of the engine's mass acting like a pendulum back there is exciting ... just not in a good way when you never quite know when the power will hit. Easy to see why they earned their "doctor killer" reputation. I still love the shape and the concept, but I would only want to own one if I also had unlimited use of an airfield or a track with huge runoff areas to play with it.

A non-turbo air-cooled 911 is much more fun. Or I'm just a weenie who needs a linear powerband in anything with devilish handling.

[wkohler]

Have you ever driven a B7 Turbo?

[Cactus]

A non-turbo air-cooled 911 is much more fun. Or I'm just a weenie who needs a linear powerband in anything with devilish handling.

If you are, then I'm a weenie too. Torque on demand is really nice.

[Tammer in Philly]

Have you ever driven a B7 Turbo?

I have not. The formerly-Tim, formerly-Tim, formerly-Mike Alpina B9 is the only Alpina E28 I have driven, and I LOVED that thing. Very neutral handling, felt like an E30 M3 with balls.

[bigwave]

E91 touring with that dumb ass steering wheel

Audi 100 avant Quattro 5spd, will give credit for near zero body roll

Passat 4motion 1.8t wagon 5spd, needs more turbo

and I guess I'm not that surprised about the e30 m3 haters club as it has a lot of hype to live up to, potentially even more than the Porsche 959

[Tammer in Philly]

E91 touring with that dumb ass steering wheel

Audi 100 avant Quattro 5spd, will give credit for near zero body roll

Passat 4motion 1.8t wagon 5spd, needs more turbo

and I guess I'm not that surprised about the e30 m3 haters club as it has a lot of hype to live up to, potentially even more than the Porsche 959

E30 M3 and E28 M5 are similar for me in that both are completely transformed when on a racetrack. The M5 is better on the street for sure, but it feels so much more at home where you can really open up the top end and keep it above 4500 RPM consistently. I love both.

[wkohler]

I drove a 1988 Mini 1000. LHD, recently imported to the US by some friends of mine in Portland.

I didn't fit in the car well (my head was turned to the side and the window crank was in my knee because I couldn't have my right leg in a normal position because the very long throw 4-speed shifter would have been obstructed. I drove it in light traffic and there was a Lexus GX470 (or something) behind me and can honestly say it was the first time I was kinda worried driving a car outside of LA. It was pretty easy to drive. Clutch was light, but it was full throttle everywhere. For years, I wanted a Mini but once I finally got the chance to drive one, I realized they're not for me. After I got out of the car, one of them drove it to Seattle that night. He did make it.